If they won't sand or degrease...keep interviewing...seriously!

With surfaces like that...you see/touch/clean/bump....everyday...the best only makes sense. This obviously requires meticulous prep though!

You can do this...it just takes time, good technique/brushes/paint.

Do you have some kiddie-pools/large-shallow tubs and a fan?! I'll explain later!!! ;-)

Faron

Faron, no kiddie pools, but I'm sure I can pick a few up somewhere. Why?

What would be the steps required to do this myself? I know I need to sand, degrease, rinse, and FPE recommends also using Wil-bond before priming. What order should all of this be done? Then I know I need to sand in between coats of primer/paint. What grit sandpaper? Is one coat of FPE primer sufficient?

Is the FPE paint that much better than the BM satin impervo (waterbased)? Again, huge price difference, but if it is that much better of a product for kitchen cabinets, I'm willing to pay for it.

Is there anything different regarding the application of the FPE paint that I should know about in advance? Can Floetrol be added to this particular paint?

Sorry for so many questions, I just want to make sure this gets done right the first time. THanks for the help!!

This may sound weird...?!?!?

The idea behind the "kiddie-pools" is a technique to keep dust down when doing fine finish-painting!
* I learned of it when visiting with the FPE people, and watching their info-DVD.
* When doing "critical-appearance" projects, use a couple kiddie-pools with 1" of water placed in your workroom.
* The day b4 priming/painting, turn on the fan. This circulates the air in the room. The airborne dust eventually "preciptates out" onto the water surface. Surface-area is important...NOT water DEPTH!
* Cover incoming vents with filter-cloth, sprayed with Filter-charger.
* A spare bedroom works great for doing the Cab-doors. Vacuum/Sweep/Cover flooring. Change furnace filter. Then let the air-cleaning begin!
* Use a top-end brush, such as a Good Corona, Purdy, or Wooster.
* DON'T use Floetrol. Kinda old-school, and CAN affect color in lights/whites. Choose XIM's Latex X-tender if needed...but it's usually not.
* One of the keys is using Looooonnng smooth strokes. Don't use "feather-dusting"-type strokes when applying paint.
* The Face-frames don't need such precision since they're locked in place! Use the same careful "long-strokes" however.
* Don't overwork the paint...if you're brushing more than 6 times thru the same area, it's too much.
* Choose how smooth you want your door-surface. You can use FPE's Grain-filling Putty/primer, but this involves more sanding prep. Results would be spectacular though!!

Faron

I think you will always notice a difference between a homeowner paintjob and a truly professional paintjob. This is especially true for cabinet painting. Sadly, a lot of painters deliver homeowner paintjob quality though. Ask all your friends if they know painters. That is the best way to find a good one.

Why do we need the kiddie pool technique with latex paints though? Dust clinging to surfaces is never an issue when the paint dries in 10 minutes is it?

I hired a crew last year who seemed quite impressive about the details during interview. The job consisted of wallpaper stripping, wall prep, wall paint, and the cabinets. There was no way I could handle all that. Especially the wallpaper above the cabinets.

Before the start date approached, I decided to tackle the door fronts myself (once I learned about BM Aura paints) to save some money and because I figured it would be less intensive as I could do them while off the frames in the basement work area. It was a long project (many steps, 20 doors), but I actually enjoyed it. I definitely put more into the prep than they would have. I could tell by the way they did the frames. They didn't use the TSP they said they would. They didn't sand after every layer, like they said they would. Even the initial sand was not as thorough as mine. They did a good job, but I think I did a better job.

Its not rocket science. You can do it (with the help of this forum!)

The issue is just how perfect/smooth/flawless you need it to be.

One of the places I had interviewed said they would spray paint. I think that would be the smoothest possible finish, but I decided against them. I forget why now.

I'm not familiar with the products you are mentioning, but I was very impressed with the BM Aura paint. It is self leveling so brush marks are minimized. Touchup-ability is great. Lower VOC. Dries fast. The oak grain is the real killer. I used multiple primer coats to fill in as much as possible. They are visible close-up but not terrible. I think my cabinets went from a 2 to a 9 (scale of 1 to 10). And 9 is fine with me.

These are my b4/after pics. There's one close-up here of the paint. Maybe this will help.

MyKitchenFacelift

oh, I meant to also mention that the crew I used were prepared to give a proposal based on a flat fee, but they were also willing to go with an hourly charge, time and materials. I picked the latter. Its straightforward and less chance of shortcuts on their part or overpaying on my part.

And if I only wanted oil paints, I would not do it myself.

I appreciate the advice (and pictures). I am still torn between hiring it out and doing it myself. I just don't think I really want to spend that much time doing it myself, but on the other hand, I know that I will do a better job prepping the wood (but probably not a better job actually painting). But I don't really have anywhere but the basement to paint, and the basement is unfinished, and dusty. Maybe I will do the prep myself and hire the painting? I am thinking I will keep looking for a painter. He insists on rolling instead of brushing...is that normal? I don't want a stipple appearance on the wood--stipple is for walls. Well, any other advice, either on diy painting or experience with FPE is greatly appreciated!

MBEG-

* Smooth foam rollers are good for smooth surfaces...
* BUT...if your doors are like Wendyb's, a good brush is just as fast, since you'll have to watch for pooling @ the edge-frames, etc. You want to "pull paint out of the corners" when doing edges. Loooooonnng smooth strokes in the panels' center areas.
* Try practicing your techniques on the inside of another rooms' cab-door!
* You'll get a good feel for brush-time, and arm movements.
* It doesn't take much airborne dust to mar a door-job, even with a short "set-up" period.

From FPE's Specifier Manual:

"Primer should be sanded with 220. Then apply 2 generous, even coats of ECO. For optimal appearance, lightly sand with 220 between coats. Apply the paint and walk away. Do not overwork this finish."
Drying time: Dust-free after 1 hr.
Recoatable after 16 hrs.
Binder: Water-thinnable, Urethane-Alkyd Emulsion.

>>> In your basement, get a big roll of painter's-plastic, and make yourself a "plastic room"!
>>> Just a couple staples on some studs, and you've got a paint room.
>>> Get some "Red-rosin" paper for the floors. This comes in 4' by 50' or 100' rolls.
>>> Instead of the "pools" idea, you could hang some furnace filters sprayed with Filter-charger, and have the fan blow for a day...to reduce dust levels.

Voila!!! You've now got a paint-booth!

FPE's ECO, ACE's Cabinet/Door/Trim paint, & CC all need ~ a day between coats, since they're "Leveling"-type paints.

Faron

Thanks Faron. So, do I want to hang the furnace filters before setting up the "plastic room"?
Do you think I should use one or two coats of primer?
I am considering using FPE's brushing putting, but we recently added a large crown molding and a light rail to the cabs, and had it done in oak since the cabs are oak--we thought we were hiring a professional to paint, and they all said it is not worth the time, ie money, to have them do the brushing putty. They said I could buy new doors for the money they would charge to apply the brushing putty, so we figured we'd just deal with seeing the grain and went with matching oak moldings. If I use the brushing putty, that is a lot of woodwork to cover when I could have just had it done in poplar to begin with. Well, thanks again.